Peter Molyneux thinks dual-screen console gaming is worrisome, yet exciting

“The thing about the SmartGlass is that the tablet is a thing that you have with you all the time. Now, in that sense, I understand completely as a consumer and I’m excited to see what these guys do with it. But I do have a problem with it. I now have a screen in front of me on my lap and a screen up on the wall that I’m looking at. Which one should I be looking at? Should I be looking up at the big screen and down, or at my lap and up? Should I be checking down on my lap every few seconds? What’s going to incentivize me to move my eyes from the wall to my lap?” – Game designer Peter Molyneux

This is actually one of the most interesting things I heard brought up about Wii U and other tablet/console gaming solutions! It’s really a double edged sword, because he’s right– sometimes it’s going to be detrimental to have to look between one screen and another, especially in time-critical games like Call of Duty or Tekken. That being said, I think the benefits and possibility truly outweigh the costs! He continued…

“In a way, part of me is excited by this. But part of me is worried that this is a bit of tech which us tech boys get really excited about, and until I see some really great uses of that SmartGlass or the Wii U GamePad, the jury is out for me to be honest with you. I can see it if I’m watching a football game that the scores would come up on the SmartGlass. I’m all there for that. I can see if I’m watching a TV episode and it gives me some background on the actors. I’m kind of there, but I can do that on the internet already.”

He talks a ton more about Wii U, and you can read all of that stuff after the break…

“I struggle to see anything amazing coming out of Nintendo. There are a few, “Oh, that’s smart,” but there’s nothing that makes me rush out as a consumer to buy the new device. I’ll give you a great example of how tech should be used. It’s what Nintendo did with the Wii when it first came out. They introduced motion control. They were one of the first companies to introduce motion control and they had a fantastic Wii Sports Game. As soon as I picked up the controller and started waving it around, I got it. I already understood it. But I’m not sure there’s a same sort of application out there for Wii U. I think to myself, “Well, what’s the reason to get it?”

“When you’re designing a game for a plasma screen you’ve got to really flash the corners of the screen. You’ve got to get movement in, otherwise people don’t notice anything in the corners. Getting people to move their eyes from the screen down to their laps is incredibly hard. There has to be some huge motivational thing like the words coming up, “Look at your GamePad now.” If you’re going to do that, from a design perspective that sounds a bit clumsy and complex.”

This is all taken from a very interesting interview that IGN did with Molyneux. Read the whole thing!